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‘Results Written Before Election,’ says Buhari From Kunle Olasanmi, Abuja
The presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has said that he has proved beyond reasonable doubt in his petition at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal that the results of the April 21 election were arbitrarily assigned. In his final address to the tribunal, Buhari, through his counsel, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), said the voters’ register was irregular, adding that there were photographs of children in many. Buhari said that there were widespread illegalities and improprieties during the election. The former Head of State said: "In conclusion, it is submitted that there was no election in the 29 states covered by evidence and this address, and that the allegation that the results in the ECBD(A)s and EC8E were arbitrarily assigned without any election at the base has been conclusively established even beyond reasonable doubts although the burden is only on the balance of probability; we have proved bias in the corporate respondent acting through its staff and agents, by showing that wherever anything was done wrong, it was done in favour of 5th and 6th Respondents; we have proved that the voters register was so irregular that even photos of children featured in many, and that some were on foolscap sheets; we have shown through different documents that results were being written on different days, including pre-election, and also, most curiously, after the ‘result’ had been announced. "It is submitted that where the so-called final result contains figures that were said to have arisen before the date of the election and even after the so-called ‘final result’ had been announced, then it would take minimal objectivity to come to a conclusion that the ‘final result’ was arbitrarily put together. "This is more so when there is evidence that results were in existence even before the date of the election, and that neither the petitioner nor the 5th and 6th respondents made use of original election documents in this petition which proves that the documents were not made available to the candidate during the electoral process, a fact of which this Court should take judicial notice, the same being a non-compliance with section 64(4) and 75 of the Electoral Act. "The extent of damage occasioned by the widespread illegalities and improprieties, and for which the Respondents did not offer any explanation whatsoever or even attempted to do so, have rendered the election as being so badly conducted that no electoral benefit is derivable from it by anyone. "With the overwhelming evidence of non-compliance with the several safeguard sections of the Electoral Act 2006 listed in paragraph 4.03A(i) supra, the extensive non-compliance with the manual Exhibit P2/A1, the total lack of respect for the principles of the Electoral Act manifested by the 1st and 2nd Respondents in the conduct of the elections, and the total absence of rebuttal evidence explaining the circumstances under which the mountain of documentary illegalities came into existence, it is submitted that the election was so badly conducted that on the authority of Swem V Dzungwe (supra); Buhari V Obasanjo (supra); Morgan V Simpson (per Lord Denning) supra and other authorities cited in that behalf, this Honourable Court is urged to hold that the conditions under Section 146(1) of the Electoral Act have been met, and having so held, nullify the presidential election purportedly conducted by the 1st and 2nd respondents on 21/4/07." |
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